TAP right to care: meals, hotel and transport

What the right to care actually covers

The right to care (or right to assistance) is one of three separate things EU261 can give you, and it helps not to confuse them:

• Care (Article 9) — meals, refreshments, communication, and accommodation with transfers where an overnight stay becomes necessary. Owed regardless of fault.
• Compensation (Article 7) — a fixed EUR 250, 400 or 600 for a delay of three hours or more, a short-notice cancellation, or denied boarding — not payable when the cause is a genuine extraordinary circumstance.
• Refund or re-routing (Article 8) — your choice between a ticket refund or a new flight to your destination.

The crucial point is that care under Article 9 does not depend on whether compensation is due. Even when TAP legitimately refuses a payout because of an extraordinary circumstance such as a closed airport or an air-traffic-control strike, it must still feed you and, if needed, house you overnight. The Court of Justice confirmed this in C-12/11 McDonagh (the 2010 Icelandic ash-cloud closures): the duty to provide care has no temporal or monetary cap, and an airline cannot escape it by pleading exceptional events.

Care is owed by the operating carrier — the airline that actually flies the aircraft (C-532/17 Wirth). That is usually TAP Air Portugal, but some regional legs are flown by TAP Express and some code-shares by Star Alliance partners. Whoever operates the flight owes you the care, however you booked — directly, through a travel agent, or via an online agency such as eDreams or Opodo.

When meals and refreshments are due

Meals and refreshments become due once your wait at the airport crosses a distance-based threshold:

A short TAP hop such as Lisbon–Madrid or Porto–Barcelona uses the two-hour trigger; Lisbon–Paris or a flight to the Azores or Madeira sits in the three-hour band; long-haul routes — Lisbon to Brazil, or to the United States or Canada — use the four-hour threshold. TAP usually hands out vouchers at the gate, but if it does not, that is your cue to buy something reasonable and keep the receipt.

Overnight delays: hotel and transport

Where the disruption forces an overnight stay — a cancelled evening long-haul, or a delay pushed to the next morning — Article 9(1)(b) requires TAP to provide hotel accommodation and Article 9(1)(c) transport between the airport and that hotel. You may also make two telephone calls or send two emails (Article 9(2)). This applies at your departure airport and at a connecting hub. If you miss a connection in Lisbon on a single ticket, TAP owes care while you wait for the next flight to your final destination (C-11/11 Folkerts).

If TAP does not provide care, keep your receipts

TAP will not always organise assistance, especially during mass disruption when its desks are overwhelmed. When that happens you do not lose the right — you buy what you reasonably need and claim it back. This is the mechanism behind McDonagh: a passenger who paid for their own meals and hotel during the ash-cloud closure was entitled to reimbursement of those costs.

To make reimbursement smooth:

• Keep itemised receipts for every meal, drink, hotel night and taxi or transfer.
• Note the flight number, date and the delay or cancellation.
• Keep it proportionate — modest meals, a standard airport-area hotel, and public transport or a normal taxi.

What counts as "reasonable" has limits. Airport lounges, alcohol, luxury hotels, mini-bar bills and first-class transfers are the kinds of items an airline will refuse. The spend must be a sensible response to your situation, not an upgrade at TAP's expense. If TAP declines to refund fair costs, that becomes part of a wider claim — see what to do when a claim is rejected.

How this fits with your other rights

Care is yours to keep whatever else happens. If the flight is cancelled or delayed long enough, you may also be entitled to a refund rather than a voucher under Article 8, and separately to Article 7 compensation. And where TAP fails to re-route you and you arrange your own transport, that is a distinct claim for alternative transport costs.

ClaimWinger can handle the whole claim on a no-win, no-fee basis: no upfront cost, and we only charge a commission if money actually reaches you. If your TAP flight was disrupted, start with our delayed-flight service and we will assess your care reimbursement and any compensation together.

FAQ — Frequently asked questions

Does TAP owe me care even if the delay was caused by weather?

Yes. Care under Article 9 is owed regardless of the cause. Extraordinary circumstances such as weather or a strike can remove Article 7 compensation, but not the right to meals, refreshments and, where needed, a hotel (C-12/11 McDonagh).

TAP gave me nothing at the airport — can I still claim?

Yes. Buy reasonable food, drink and, if stranded overnight, a modest hotel and transfer, then reclaim the cost with itemised receipts noting the flight details.

Is there a cap on what TAP has to reimburse?

The Regulation sets no fixed cap on care, but spending must be reasonable and proportionate. Luxury hotels, alcohol and premium transfers are typically refused.

I missed my connection in Lisbon — does care apply?

On a single booking, yes. TAP must provide care while you wait for the next flight, and the delay is judged against arrival at your final destination.

Does booking through an agent or with Miles&Go points change my care rights?

No. The operating carrier owes care however you booked. Publicly available fares, including standard Miles&Go award tickets, are covered; only non-public fares are excluded.

Sources

• Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Articles 6 and 9
• Judgment in C-12/11 McDonagh v Ryanair (right to care in extraordinary circumstances)
• Judgment in C-11/11 Folkerts (final destination and connections)
• European Commission — Air passenger rights

This guide reflects the legal position in 2026. The EU261 three-hour delay threshold and compensation amounts of EUR 250/400/600 remain in force. The July 2026 reform (a longer delay window and a fixed airline response deadline) is a proposal, not yet in force, and does not change the right to care above. This is general information, not legal advice.